Shuja Shah Durrani

Infobox Monarch
name =Shuja Shah Durrani
title =Emir of Afghanistan


caption ="Shah Shuja sitting at his Kabul Palace"
reign =Durrani Empire: 1803–1809
coronation =
othertitles =
full name =Shuja Shah Durrani
predecessor =Mahmud Shah Durrani
successor =Dost Mohammad Khan
suc-type =
heir =
queen =
consort =
spouse 1 =Daughter of Fath Khan Tokhi
spouse 2 =Wafa Begum
spouse 3 =Daughter of Sayyid Amir Haidar Khan
spouse 4 =Daughter of Khan Bahadur Khan Malikdin Khul
spouse 5 =Daughter of Sardar Haji Rahmatu'llah Khan Sardozai
spouse 6 =Sarwar Begum
spouse 7 =Bibi Mastan
issue =
royal house =
dynasty =Durrani dynasty
royal anthem =
father =Timur Shah Durrani
mother =
date of birth =November 4, 1785
place of birth =
date of death =April 5, 1842
place of death =
date of burial =
place of burial =|

Shuja Shah Durrani (also known as "Shah Shujah", "Shoja Shah", "Shujah al-Mulk") (c. November 4, 1785 – April 5, 1842) was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1803 to 1809. He then ruled from 1839 until his death in 1842. Shuja Shah was of the Sadozai line of the Abdali group of Pashtuns. He became the fifth Emir of Afghanistan. [Encyclopedia Britannica - [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067071/Shah-Shoja Shah Shoja] ]

Family

Shuja Shah was the son of Timur Shah Durrani of the Durrani Empire. He ousted his brother, Mahmud Shah, from power, and ruled Afghanistan from 1803 to 1809.

Marriages

# A daughter of Fath Khan Tokhi
# Wafa Begum
# A daughter of Sayyid Amir Haidar Khan; Amir of Bokhara
# A daughter of Khan Bahadur Khan Malikdin Khul
# A daughter of Sardar Haji Rahmatu'llah Khan Sardozai; Wazir
# Sarwar Begum
# Bibi Mastan; of Indian origin

Career

Depositions, imprisonments and alliances

Shuja Shah was the governor of Herat and Peshawar from 1798 to 1801. He proclaimed himself as King of Afghanistan in October 1801 (after the deposition of his brother Zaman Shah), but only properly ascended to the throne in on July 13, 1803.

Shuja allied Afghanistan with the United Kingdom in 1809, as a means of defending against a combined invasion of India by Napoleon and Russia.

On May 3, 1809, he was overthrown by his predecessor Mahmud Shah and went into exile in India, where he was captured by Jahandad Khan Bamizai and imprisoned at Attock (1811–2) as well as in Kashmir (1812–3). Shortly afterwards, he was handed over to Maharajah Ranjit Singh and imprisoned at Lahore from 1813 to 1814. Once a holder of the famous Koh-i-Nor diamond, he was forced to hand it over to his captor to gain back his freedom. He stayed first in Punjab and later in Ludhiana.

In 1833 he struck a deal with Maharajah Ranjit Singh of the Punjab: He was allowed to march his troops through Punjab, and in return he would cede Peshawar to the Sikhs if they could manage to take it. In a concerted campaign the following year, Shuja marched on Kandahar while the Sikhs, commanded by general Hari Singh Nalwa attacked Peshawar. In July, Shuja Shah was narrowly defeated at Kandahar by the Afghans under Dost Mohammad Khan and fled. The Sikhs on their hand seized Peshawar.

In 1838 he had gained the support of the British and Punjab for an invasion of Afghanistan. This triggered the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–42). Shuja was restored to the throne by the British on August 7, 1839 [Moon, P. (1989). "The British Conquest and Dominion of India", London: Duckworth, ISBN 0 7156 2169 6, p.515] , almost 30 years after his deposition, but did not remain in power when the British left. He was assassinated by Shuja ud-Daula, on April 5, 1842. [Moon, P. (1989). "The British Conquest and Dominion of India", London: Duckworth, ISBN 0 7156 2169 6, p.552]

References

Further reading

* "Divan-i-Shuja" (1825)
* "Memoirs of Shuja ul-Mulk Shah, King of Afghanistan" (1826)

External links

* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067071/Shah-Shoja Encyclopedia Britannica - Shah Shoja]
* [http://www.bl.uk/collections/afghan/chronology1747to1809.html The British Library - Shah Shuja]